Ok so I've had a 97 powerstroke for 5 years,,I got it as a not very well maintained truck and have spent more time under it over the last few years than I have my wife. I've wanted a quieter, better riding truck that can still pull our camper, I can't afford to own a newer diesel without a warranty and can't afford to buy one with a warranty lol. Soooo that has turned me onto a V10 truck. I'm currently working a deal on an 03 eclb 4x4 F250 lariat truck with 126k on it.

It's as clean as a pin in and out. He plenty of maintenance records. Previous owner had a 5th wheel and a truck camper judging from the way the truck is equipped. I drove it today and noticed a clunking noise from what seems like under the drivers feet while going over small bumps and expansion joints. I'm guessing sway bar links possibly? Also had a slight vibration under hard braking. I informed the salesman and he said it would be fixed so we'll see.

Anything else I should be looking at? It's dry as a bone underneath, no exhaust leaks or broken manifold studs that I can see or hear. ESOF is engaging and disengaging as it should with no affect on the A/C system.

Any advice is greatly appreciated, hopefully I can put my OBS up for sale by the end of the week to clear some driveway space for a nice SD

 

Sounds like you checked out all the major things. I would want to know what axle gears are in it, especially if your towing with it. I think 4:30's are the best all around gear ratio for stock size tires and I am sure others would agree. Check the drivers side door pillar for the label and check out the codes in the Super Duty Tech section.

 

I was thinking about that after reading, I'll stop by and look Monday.

 

Do the maintenance records include the tranny servicing? If you can tell it's obviously been a pull vehicle in its prior life (which shouldn't dissuade you from a purchase, BTW, if its been cared for properly), that's one of the major items I'd be checking out. Look and smell the fluid for any obvious issues.

 

After rebuilding the trans in my 97 to the tune of @2k, the trans was my frst thing to look at, serviced at 30, 60 & 90k according to records.

 

Very good. And 2k seems like a good price to me! A 'fully built' tranny for my 2003 Cummins was gonna be closer to 4k. Which is partly the reason I let it go and picked up my V10 this past fall.

As for the bumping noise on the drivers side...my 2003 does the very same. And it seems to have gotten worse since we started having the recent cold snap. I should probably crawl under there one of these days and find the cause. Hard to get motivated though when its already down to 15 when I roll in the door after coming home from work.

 

Very good. And 2k seems like a good price to me! A 'fully built' tranny for my 2003 Cummins was gonna be closer to 4k. Which is partly the reason I let it go and picked up my V10 this past fall.

As for the bumping noise on the drivers side...my 2003 does the very same. And it seems to have gotten worse since we started having the recent cold snap. I should probably crawl under there one of these days and find the cause. Hard to get motivated though when its already down to 15 when I roll in the door after coming home from work.

 

Maybe ball joints?

 

As for the noise in the front, it could be the front shocks. I know my stock shocks made a similar noise especially when cold.

 

I have to second this. The ones in my '01 were done by the time I had 45K miles on it. Took a while to figure out what the clunking noise was when I hit the brakes

 

It was sway bar links, they took care of them, I'm just trying to get my obs 7.3 truck gone before I pull the trigger on it!

 

Cool! Guess what I'm checking on my truck this weekend? Thanks for posting the findings.

 

Getting close! I'm walking into the dealership tomorrow with a large wad of 100$s I'll report back after work, either with pics of the new truck or a sad face lol.

 

Sounds like a nice truck. The V10's are rare around here, so I'm glad to have one. Good luck with the deal. Try to leave the stealership with atleast one of those $100's. haha

 

It's in the driveway, radio is doa, 3 studs broken on passenger side manifold, 4wd light not coming on when you flip the switch, and the noise is still in the front end. They told me to make a list and bring it back Monday and they'd take care of everything.

Even with its issues, I LOVE it!